Car design quirks that do/did your head in

[jmsguzzi]

Cup holders in the E39 BMW 5 Series, not only are they extremely flimsy and useless but they're also place directly in front of the inside air temp sensor for the climate control, meaning cold drinks in the summer make the vents blow hot and hot drinks in the winter make the vents blow cold.

Aircon in the SAAB 9-5 always reverting to auto and high fan speed when you turn the car on regardless of the settings you had it on when the car was turned off.

W124 blowing fresh air only from the middle vents, ok in the summer, not great in winter even if you close them, the aforementioned arm rest on the passenger seat is just Merc being cheap, it's on the drivers seat in LHD cars which makes sense, they just couldn't be arsed to tool it for RHD.

No sound deadening in the roof of the B7 Passat, cheap bastards, sounded like you were in a corrugated shed when it rained.

 

[Split_Pin]

1 minute ago, jmsguzzi said:

Aircon in the SAAB 9-5 always reverting to auto and high fan speed when you turn the car on regardless of the settings you had it on when the car was turned off.

My 93 does this but only if the temperature is set to 'HI'.

[rainagain]

Weird cantilever wiper arm arrangements to save money when converting from LHD to RHD. You could almost forgive it on a 206 but not the ultimate driving machine 5 series. I owned a 206 and the wipers annoyed me greatly, they always left a line of water on the driver’s side. I remember they even made watchdog as they were so crap. 

Also the laziness of just sticking a big bar across the firewall to work the brakes when converting to RHD.

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-13566999.amp

[Surface Rust]

A year round irration of my spaceship Civic is the fact the weather seals on the side windows don't 'scrape' condensation of the outside when you put them down.

This means you have to manually wipe the windows when you can't see through them.

[reb]

Everything about a mk5 Fiesta. When I bought my one I quite rapidly found out I just don't fit in them. None of the controls were where I could comfortably reach them. And the heated windscreen was surely a novelty when new but mine didn't work and it gave me eye strain focussing past the wires. Also bolting the emergency jack to the floor is irritating when it hasn't been used in 15 years and it's seized solid leaving you stranded at the side of the road in the dark.

It's the only car I've owned I don't have fond memories of.

[Captain Mainwaring]

Also I think part of the design brief for the current incarnation of the Relay/Ducato/everything else they badge them as these days was to make the heater controls as confusing as possible. 

Think they've just facelifted the dash and made it a bit simpler now though.

[Metal Guru]

Weird handbrake handle in a Bini Countryman. ( sort of T -bar affair). You’d get used to it if it was the only car you drive, but as an occasional user , it’s a pain.

[GMcD]

Electric folding mirrors - They should either fold when the vehicle is locked or fold by pushing the button on the door without the ignition being on. 

The Navara has neither option which is great when getting out of it on a tight busy road as you don't have a huge mirror to glance at before opening the door in traffic. So it's the Dutch reach each time. 

The rear tailgate doesn't operate with the central locking which I suppose is normal for a pickup with an open bed but you need to disassemble the key every time you want to lock it which is just silly as it's footery AF:

 

[outlaw118]

Off-centre rear number plates. 

Think the last gen Disco had them - they weren't the worst culprit, as they looked like they were supposed to be there, but there's a Japanese or Korean 4x4 where they're JUST off centre - possible the big Hyundai - Terracan?

I'm at work so can't search for much without sending the Big Brother security thing into a rage, but I'm sure they'll be pictures available.

[Captain Mainwaring]

36 minutes ago, Captain Mainwaring said:

Also I think part of the design brief for the current incarnation of the Relay/Ducato/everything else they badge them as these days was to make the heater controls as confusing as possible. 

Think they've just facelifted the dash and made it a bit simpler now though.

Just to add to this, the handbrake lever is inexplicably situated on the right hand side of the driver's seat, so if one slides off the seat when getting out as a multi-drop driver is wont to do, it goes straight up your arse.

[Asimo]

Side opening back doors. How much better with a tailgate!

[leakingstrut]

E46 main beam being at the top of the dash. In my ideal seating and steering position I couldn’t see it! 

p3 Volvo XC70 - needs the seatbelt on to release the handbrake automatically, and is fiddly to do manually. From what I can tell, you can’t disable the seatbelt buzzer. I don’t drive on the road without a seatbelt, but I often have bag on the passenger seat which sets it off, and I’m not going to bother wearing one when I’m doing 15mph along a gravel track and I’ve got a million gates to open and shut. Tempted to see if I can unplug the belt sensor and bridge it.

[Urko]

12 hours ago, Split_Pin said:

Opaque coolant header tanks on Rover 75s. I have got the nack of reading mine using a phone torch but I have yet to find anyone else that understands me when I try to explain it.

BMW part - "German Engineering" Also found on 3 series and possibly other heaps of shit.

[Urko]

16 hours ago, Stanky said:

THIS

Its the same setup on the W203 and as mine is manual, its just not a good system. Hill starts - especially steep hills or going up a hill in stop/start traffic - is horrible.

If it actually did something different to a conventional handbrake lever then maybe, but it literally just makes a simple and reliable system needlessly complex and worse to use. The only reason its OK in an auto is that you don't have to use it.

I blame the Americans for this - it's almost ubiquitous on yank motors and so Merc and and others have adopted it.

Also seemingly no-one uses their handbrakes in Germany.

[horriblemercedes]

2 hours ago, MarinaJosh said:

Vauxhall's weird indicator system. Not sure what it's called but the indicators on my girlfriend's Corsa don't latch into place like normal indicators, so when you go to switch them off you invariably end up indicating the other way.

It feels like I'm the only person who has never had a problem with these. I can't say I like them more than the traditional type, I suppose they're neither better nor worse for me. Just a slightly different way 

 

If anything they're better because I've never known them to break, unlike traditional latch types that can and then you have to hold them in place 

[Spiny Norman]

One I'm starting to notice on the SLK although the Saab 9-5 wasn't much better.
Seat belt buckles buried way down and jammed between the seat and centre console. Not so much a problem in decent weather but when you've got a big winter coat on it's a PITA shuffling it out the way to get the belt on.

 

[Rightnider]

50 minutes ago, Urko said:

Also seemingly no-one uses their handbrakes in Germany.

This is interesting! In Sweden almost nobody uses the handbrake when doing hill starts, or when stopping for red lights. This seems to be the norm in the UK, and I’ve been wondering about that. I think it’s down to different cultures taught by driving instructors. 

[Captain Mainwaring]

1 hour ago, outlaw118 said:

Off-centre rear number plates. 

Think the last gen Disco had them - they weren't the worst culprit, as they looked like they were supposed to be there, but there's a Japanese or Korean 4x4 where they're JUST off centre - possible the big Hyundai - Terracan?

I'm at work so can't search for much without sending the Big Brother security thing into a rage, but I'm sure they'll be pictures available.

I think it's one of the older Santa Fes you're talking about, and yes, it looks silly.

 

Edit: yes

[Richard_FM]

40 minutes ago, Rightnider said:

This is interesting! In Sweden almost nobody uses the handbrake when doing hill starts, or when stopping for red lights. This seems to be the norm in the UK, and I’ve been wondering about that. I think it’s down to different cultures taught by driving instructors. 

My driving instructor used to say to always put it on when stationary while in traffic in case someone runs into the back!  This will stop you shunting the car in front!

Since buying a Yaris Hybrid I've had to learn to remember to put the handbrake on tight to stop it creeping, it's that or putting it in neutral at every red light.

[sierraman]

Mondeo Mk2, always seemed to piss water in through every orifice. Nightmare in the winter

[Noel Tidybeard]

auto wipers on civic 10g- too sensitive and will put wipers on constant wipe with a light mizzle which of course cancels the lane keeping assist ("self steering") when bimbling up the M5/M42! 🙄

auto lights which i think come on too early!

[Tenmil Socket]

I understand it's a cost cutting exercise but cars with only one reverse light on one side. It messes with the symmetry.

e.g. 

[GeordieInExile]

The combination of the shape of the door and the shape of the wheelarch on a Pug 2008. A mess. Could have just had the door follow the line of the plastic. There are a few other SUVs which commit this design sin but the 2008 is the worst. 

[SiC]

25 minutes ago, Richard_FM said:

Since buying a Yaris Hybrid I've had to learn to remember to put the handbrake on tight to stop it creeping, it's that or putting it in neutral at every red light.

Does it not have brake hold? 

You have to be careful with many autos that aren't slush as they will burn up clutches if not held with the foot brake. On many it's only the foot brake causes it to disengage the internal clutches and not the handbrake. 

[horriblemercedes]

1 hour ago, GeordieInExile said:

The combination of the shape of the door and the shape of the wheelarch on a Pug 2008. A mess. Could have just had the door follow the line of the plastic. There are a few other SUVs which commit this design sin but the 2008 is the worst. 

I don't see it. What's the problem? 

[GeordieInExile]

6 minutes ago, horriblemercedes said:

I don't see it. What's the problem? 

This. 

The rear door shape could follow the line of the wheelarch and it would all look far more cohesive but for some reason they decided to have that confused mess of lines instead. 

[Fraz]

7 hours ago, jmsguzzi said:

No sound deadening in the roof of the B7 Passat, cheap bastards, sounded like you were in a corrugated shed when it rained.

 

Having owned a b7 since June I’ve never noticed this. I just know I’m going to regret reading this until I sell it now 🙈 

 

thanks 🤣

[Tenmil Socket]

1 hour ago, GeordieInExile said:

The combination of the shape of the door and the shape of the wheelarch on a Pug 2008. A mess. Could have just had the door follow the line of the plastic. There are a few other SUVs which commit this design sin but the 2008 is the worst. 

That photo has reminded me of one (but not in this instance)... Arnold Clarke placing their stickers in the sweeped area of the rear wiper. It's more prominent on smaller hatchbacks.

[Barry Cade]

Ford chrome wheelnuts.

[twosmoke300]

The E-Up has a few

Cruise control telltale - right behind the speedo needle at 70-75mph 

HVAC reverts to 22 deg and ac on every time you get in 

No gutters so any amount of window opening pisses water straight in like a series 3 landy 

Lane keep assistance switches on every time . I expect this is a ncap thing tho 

 

Goona 3 - the high beam tell tale is hidden by the steering wheel in my driving position